The first *haikyo* stop on *my recent Kyushu trip* is one of the internet favorites: The Vertical Shaft of the Shime Coal Mine.
Easy to spot from long distances this 47.65 meters high tower was finished in 1943 as the center of a coal mine that opened in 1889 and closed in 1964. But that’s not the only reason why the place is on virtually every haikyo homepage: It’s easy to access by public transportation and even easier by car. In fact there is a soccer field and a children’s playground right next to it. But that’s not all: Since December 8th 2009 it is considered an “important cultural property” by the Japanese state – so they fenced it off and put up some lights as if it was a 400 year old cathedral, so you can enjoy the view around the clock; you can even find the address and coordinations of the shaft on the Japanese Wikipedia. Right now they are putting up fences around two or three other remains of the mine and they planted some cherry trees to create a park surrounding. Haikyo for the whole family with no entrance fee – but nothing else either, not even a photography challenge. The construction itself is quite unique, but other than that it feels kind of dull, nothing anybody would (or should) spend more than 15 minutes on…
(EDIT 2011-04-02: To all the visitors coming from Reddit – thanks for stopping by; and thanks to bakerybob for linking this blog! Since you seem to like zombies, please have a look at the *Hospital #126 in Pripyat* and my *Nara Dreamland Special*. Both won’t make good zombie fortresses, but they would be perfect as settings for zombie movies! And there will be more “zombie style” locations soon, so please don’t forget about this blog in the future… maybe by *following me on Twitter* or / and *on Facebook*?
EDIT 2011-04-04: Since the discussion on Reddit turned into a full-grown meme now known as the “Anti-Zombie Fortress” meme I decided to add a short video clip I took when visiting the mine. It’s nothing special at all – I just put it up since so many people are interested in the topic right now… For more interesting videos, all in 720p, *please click here*.
EDIT 2013-09-17: *Yesterday I revisited the Anti-Zombie Fortress…*)
Shime Coal Mine
2010/04/11 by Florian / Abandoned Kansai
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Abandoned Kansai 
You are right about the mine shaft being a very unique looking building; I don’t think I would have guessed that it was a mine shaft without being told.
What a lovely bird in the 2nd last picture, I wonder what type it is?
I have no idea what kind of bird that is – maybe somebody reading this post knows?
To be honest, I didn’t even realize the bird was there when I took the picture. Or when I deleted the bad ones a few days later. I just spotted it when I selected the pictures for the blog entry…
Blue rock thrush
Really? Thanks a lot!
Great pictures, loved the shot with the grille in the foreground. I hoped to get out here myself when we went to Kyushu in December, but we didn`t have the time.
Thanks a lot! The structure looked very interesting, but there was no way to get in, and it was the only haikyo building around. I’m sure the location was a lot more interesting 3 or 4 years ago, before they turned it into some kind of pseudo tourist attraction. Well, better than demolishing it…
(I guess my disappointment was based on the fact that I’m used to take pictures for one, two or three hours per haikyo. Being done after less than 20 minutes wasn’t really fulfilling and way under my expectations. Luckily the pictures turned out to be good and the other two places made up for it, too.)
[…] place is also a famous online meme thanks in part to my haikyo buddy Abandoned Kansai. It became popular in April 2011 after a Reddit posting from a user suggesting that the structure […]
Aw, it’s beautiful, beautiful! I love the steel showing through the cement.
It’s quite a unique building and I am glad that it will be preserved. The downside is that it’s off limits for urban explorers now…
Hello! I hope to send some readers your way … this post is going out tonight (in about 4 hours). No worries; just a tip of my hat (or my epic helmet?) in your direction. http://jrosenberry1.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/epic-awesome/
Thank you for your wonderful blog.
Jen
Thanks a lot, Jen, for your constant support – I wish I had more time to read more blogs, but I promise to stop by every once in a while!
No worries — there is so much to do, so much to see! Love your images, so keep up the awesome work!
This building looks so creepy/ominous but awesome. Thanks for checking out my blog and loving your photos. Keep up the exploration as I do my own in Denver. -Alexander
I totally agree – I just wish I would have found out about it before they fenced it off and built a park around it.
Yeah no doubt. It would have been that much more of a barren and deserted look. Although i do think in this present setting, the places carries a curiously odd and interesting juxtaposition of the park, being such a happy place, next to this abandoned place of labor and toil. It’s very unique in that sense and could make for a great theme of photos to connect and present as a work. Makes for a great photo book i could see on bookshelves. Thoughts?
I’m not sure if the tower has enough potential to carry a whole book, but with the right amount of time and maybe permission to get at least past the fence you might be onto something for a really interesting photo series. Especially if you are willing to come back after dark and during different seasons.
Oh those would be necessary elements to get enough pictures. The different seasons idea would be an awesome take on it as well. Best in all you do buddy. Take care
Hey Alexander,
Too bad that I am living too far away from the Shime Coal Mine to stop by on a regular basis. It actually took me more than three years to revisit the tower. I’ve been to *Nara Dreamland* during various seasons though, including summer, autumn and winter…
Yes that is too bad. The dreamland shoot was awesome. I saw that one too. Definitely mysterious looking. Speaking of mysterious, what are your thoughts on Fukushima?